# Forest Stewardship Program

> Advice and site visits from Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Division of Forest Environment (State) for RI, United States.

Official page: https://dem.ri.gov/natural-resources-bureau/agriculture-and-forest-environment/forest-environment/forest-stewardship
Source: https://treerm.org/residents/programs/ri-dem-forest-stewardship-program · Updated 2026-11-08 · Status: Open

**What you get:** Technical assistance from the state Stewardship Forester for owners of forest land, including plan review and recertification for the Farm, Forest and Open Space tax program

DEM's Forest Stewardship Program, funded through the USDA Forest Service, gives technical assistance to owners of forest land where good stewardship will enhance and sustain forest resources. The Stewardship Forester approves forest management plans and recertifies properties for the Farm, Forest and Open Space Act; in 2025 the program made 106 site visits for 5-year plan reviews and recertified 85 properties, reviewed 29 intents-to-cut covering 617 acres and ran workshops with partners such as the RI Forest Conservators Organization, NRCS and URI. DEM lists tax reduction, estate planning, wildlife, cost-share opportunities and education as benefits of enrolling in FFOS, Forest Stewardship or NRCS EQIP.

## Who qualifies

Owners of forest land in Rhode Island. Forest classification under the Farm, Forest and Open Space Act requires 10 or more acres; the program's own page could not be read, so no minimum acreage for general assistance is confirmed here.

## How to apply

Contact Fern Graves, Stewardship Forester, Division of Forest Environment, 260 Arcadia Road, Hope Valley, RI 02832: fern.graves@dem.ri.gov, 401-539-2356 x2.

**For:** Landowners, Farmers

> Note: Facts come from DEM's Forest Stewardship Program 2025 year-in-review PDF and the FFOS brochure; the program web page returned an error and was not read. Whether site visits are free and how plans are written (DEM staff versus private consulting foresters) is not confirmed here.